Google Currents, Flipboard-Like App for iOS and Android

By Julie Kuehl

Dec 8th, 2011 6:31 PM EST

Google announced the launch of Google Currents for both Android and iOS on Thursday. Currents is a news aggregation app that pulls togeher content from more than 180 publications, Google+ streams, and YouTube in a manner that’s very similar to the popular iPad app, Flipboard.

Users can choose desired publications to subscribe to from the available library, or they can add their own RSS, video, and photo feeds, Google+ streams, and current Google Reader subscriptions.Publications at launch include NET, AllThingsD, Forbes, Saveur, PBS, Huffington Post, Fast Company.

The app also has a Trending feature that lets you stay current with what’s happening and browse topics of interest, such as World, Business, Sports, Technology, etc. Google Currents optimizes the content for the small screens and even allows browsing of content while offline.

In addition, there is also a self-service platform available that will allow publishers, regardless of size or technical resources, to post their own content that can be then subscribed to using Google Currents. Google Analytics can also be added to the account to provide information on devices used, content popularity, and location of readers.